Aravi in Skyrim, her video story Options

[SubRosa]

A little Kyne's Peace goes a long way. The spell version I made of it goes a long way to leveling up your Illusion.

Those are some neat icy waterfalls.

The castle looks interesting. Very eastern European. It certainly looks in much better repair than any of the forts we see in the game.

That guy Talen has sure got some mutton chops! It is interesting that the Vigilants are wiped out at the start of Dawnguard. That takes away one of my points of criticism. I never saw the point in having the Dawnguard when they already had the Vigilants. But having the Viggies being killed off not only removes the redundancy, but also builds up the villains as being a force to be reckoned with.

Actually since Dawnguard is half-off today, I decided to buy it. Now I can make all the dogs in the game into huskies!

Poor kid, he looks like he is in way over his head. Though watch, his Pa's axe is something like this!


Aravi in a little black dress! Dibella be praised! No wonder she had an audience!

Lining up a shot was probably my fave. The juxtapositon of Aravi in the foreground and the slightly out of focus mushroom things in the background really works.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Nov 23 2012, 11:07 PM

[Grits]

Vanilla dragons do attack inside Riften. The Nether Dragon’s swooping and strafing behavior looked better than vanilla to me, though. It looked like a much smarter dragon. Really fun to watch.

The video: What an exceptionally pretty little pool. I just love Kyne’s Peace. Maybe it’s his voice, but I liked Agmaer right away. How funny, that frozen waterfall did not look very inviting after the warm pool! I enjoyed Aravi’s first meeting with the Dawnguard very much. Isran seems like he does not need to be liked, which immediately tests the resolve of his recruits. I’m sure Aravi wants to keep her personal distance anyway, especially if she could end up allied with the remaining Vigilants. There are some things they do not need to know about her!

Screens: Wow, what a dress! Credit to that guard, he did appear to be looking at Aravi’s face. I love the back. It’s hot, plus it looks like it would actually stay on (when you want it to ). Lining up a Shot is my favorite here. What a pose! And the dungeon makes me delightedly anticipate a video in that location.

[Acadian]

The opening scene of the vid is delicious, with the music, butterflies and even water rippling as Aravi walks in it. Looks like she calmed that bear and left while it was still calmed – good girl! That big river with the waterfalls looked great, albeit chilly! So Fort Dawnguard it is. Love this: “I mostly just use my pa’s axe.”

Fabulous screens! So nice to see Aravi styling in an outfit that’s not made from animal skins or metal! Can’t go wrong with a little black dress! The screen of her shooting those giant blue jellyfish (lol) is fabulous! So is the beautiful frozen waterfall.

[King Coin]

@SubRosa: I really like the way Kyne’s Peace shout sounds. Quite dramatic for just plopping a bear’s butt back down.

The castle is pretty large, thought you only really use a couple of rooms.

The huskies are cool! Glad you got it cheap!

Woah, that axe looks… unique.

Aravi can look sexy if she wants! Glad you liked the shooting screen. Thanks SubRosa!

@Grits: Thanks on the dragons. I’ve got a mod that changes dragons and when something happens with them, it can be difficult to tell what’s vanilla and what’s the mod.

I absolutely had to show the little pool at the beginning. I’m sure if Isran knew about Aravi’s past, he would not be so inviting.

Glad you like the dress, everything about it is gorgeous, especially how it manages to show a lot of skin (or fur) and still doesn’t make her look like a dreamy school girl. I’m sure Kharjo’s happy, and I’m sure that guard is sneaking glances when he can. Thanks Grits!

@Acadian: I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think of you and Buffy with that opening. I liked it so much though that it would have made it regardless however. I may have to put a house or something around there sometime.

Buffy would need her toe ring if she wanted to swim in the river!

Enjoy the sight of Aravi in a dress, because they are few and far in between! Thanks Acadian!

############################

Aravi takes her new crossbow and travels to the ruins Isran wants her to investigate.

8:34

############################
Screens
Frozen valley

Silhouette

New dangers

Aravi

[SubRosa]

It looks like Revansch is a day behind Aravi. She went to Fort Dawnguard yesterday and trudged off toward Dimhollow Crypt. It sure is a long walk though!

Is that the Vigilants of Stendarr's base that is all burned down? Uh oh, I recognize those dogs. Death Hounds. Revansch has already run into them several times in the vanilla vampire dungeons. Now that Aravi is closer, I see it is the Hall of the Vigilant. A master vampire? I have noticed that the vamps are tougher now, since they all wear that armor.

I am going to stop watching now that she is going inside the crypt. I do not want to spoil anything.

Frozen Valley looks really neat. I can tell that is a DG location.

I really loved Silhouette, Aravi's dark shape sneaking past that big, blue, whatever just looks amazing.

New Dangers are sabercats with giant tattoos? Are they some giant's housecats? A good action pic of Aravi ready to fire.

The last is a good closeup of Aravi, and I detect someone who is definitely not Kharjo hovering out of focus behind her. I am guessing that is Selene from Underworld Serana.



Edited to add: Remember how Aravi only got a 40gold bounty for killing Thonar Silverblood? Well Revansch just killed Maul in the middle of the street and only got a 40 gold bounty as well. Sapphire rushed in and attacked Revansch, so she killed her too. But I think she was a freebie because Sapphire attacked first. So I wonder if Bethesda screwed up the murder bounty in the latest patch? I am running 1.8.

Edit Some More: Went back and watched the entire thing. I recognize the female vampire voice as the same actress who does the arrogant dark elves. I think if both she and the other vampire had half a mind, they would still be short of a full one put together... It makes me wonder, how arrogant do you have to be for vampires to think you are insufferable?

I see she is putting her crossbow to use. Then it is sword time, and scratch three baddies.

Grits was right, it was neat how that skeleton rose up in front of Aravi's eyes like that.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Nov 30 2012, 03:31 AM

[Acadian]

Vid:
That burned village was a gruesome mess! It was fun to see Aravi using the campfire kit, then she and Kharjo lingering by the fire to warm up. Into the crypt and overhearing some dissention in the vamp ranks it seems. So how does Aravi like her new crossbow? I saw her use it once, then it looks like she switched back to a regular bow. Love the river running through this dungeon.

Screens:
Frozen Valley is gorgeous (assuming one has a Grits-enchanted toe ring of resist cold).
Silhouette reminds of this: Khajiit like to sneak. (I know it’s been posted before.)
Uh oh, big cats. And they don’t look like they’re gonna give a fellow feline any break at all!
What a great close up of Aravi with her whiskers and scar!

[Grits]

What a shock to find the Hall of the Vigilant destroyed. As prissy and self-satisfied as they sound out on the road, I still hated to see that. But, new armor!

Oooh, campfire! What a beautiful spot. I love how the waving flag showed the wind. Fun to hear a vampire squabble. I see that Aravi went back to her bow, or maybe just wants more practice with the crossbow? That skeleton climbing out of its grave looked so neat! That place is so dark and creepy! I love it. I was glad that Aravi traded some things with Kharjo just to hear his friendly voice.

Screens: Yay, a closeup! The last one is definitely my favorite. Silhouette is really neat! Beautiful frozen valley. Acadian is right, Aravi needs a Belly Chain of Getting Naked the Icy Dip!

[Darkness Eternal]

I caught up with the videos and the screenies! Eh, it took me awhile, a damn while, but a good while nonetheless! The quest in the Reach with the Forsworn is a great quest all around, and it ties in to Aravi's former slave life as it compares somewhat. I liked the dragon fight, as well. Never had one face me in a city before, then again, I never play as "dragonborn."

Hehe. And at long last, Aravi joins up with the Dawnguard to take on the blood-sucking creeps of Skyrim. I'd probably do the same, since the Volkihar are not my cup of blood tea. As for the Vigilantes of Stendarr, those evil hypocritical villains deserved everything they got. They should have been more . . .vigilant.

I willll enjoy watching the new updates, since I never truly followed the Dawnguard side of things, but now I get the chance to see it with Aravi at the center of the action! Now hurry up, let's see some vampiric beauty like Serana(or should I call her Sonja/Selene?) and some Vampire Lord(Or Marcus Corvinus) fights!

I am now plugged in thanks to the return of my internet! Now I can truly follow!

[King Coin]

@SubRosa: It is a little annoying that the quests are spread out so much, I use fast travel because many of the objectives are around places that Aravi’s already explored plenty of times.

Yep, that’s the hall. Wouldn’t that be interesting to have been playing a Vigilant character, and then install Dawnguard?

Those are DG locations. You’ll find them soon enough, and they are really cool when you get to them. The cat is a retextured sabre cat.

The bounty is Markard was messed up before 1.8 if that is the case, because I recorded that quite a while ago.

Lol @ the vampires. Thanks SubRosa!

@Acadian: That building at the beginning was the result of the attack Mr. Muttonchops was talking about in the previous video.

Aravi likes the crossbow fine; she just doesn’t have one that is enchanted. The bow had an enchantment she wanted to put to use. You’d like a lot of the caves in Skyrim, many of them have pools of water, streams, or rivers.

Nope, no toe ring. That was Buffy’s gift! Aravi stayed out of the water in this one. Thanks Acadian!

@Grits: Aravi always saw the Vigilants as armatures. They don’t really have very good armor or equipment when she’s seen them. She kind of has mixed feelings about them too.

She used the bow because she wanted to put its enchantment to use. The crossbow doesn’t have an enchantment. Aravi loves having Kharjo with when she has to go somewhere like this. They need to record more Khajiit lines.

@ belly chain! I’ve been looking, but nobody’s made one yet! Thanks Grits!

@DE: Hey you’re back! Glad to hear you have a connection you can count on again!

Aravi’s my dragonborn character, any others that I play are not. The forsworn quest is one of my favorites so far. It’s just too bad it ruined Markarth for Aravi, that’s a really cool city. She isn’t happy about the Vigilants, but neither is she going to morn their passing. And I believe Serana is coming right up. Thanks DE!

#####################################

Aravi continues making her way through Dimhollow Crypt. She finds more vampires farther inside, who have found something they regard important.

10:09

Books:
Notes on Dimhollow Crypt, Vol. 3

Physicalities of Werewolves

#####################################

A moment

Aravi gets some help with a fort of necromancers

Destruction

Shooting

[Darkness Eternal]

Physicalities of werewolves is a damn good book with some good info on the general stuff about Lycanthropy. How they're weakness goes beyond silver to being a plant(Wolf's bane), much like the Canis Root which weakens werebears, or so the stories say. It also paints the author as a sick, demented twisted evil fellow for performing a vivesection on his experiment. And then they complain why they're the bottom of the food chain, eh.

Nice screenies:

Wow, so Aravi has dragons torching her enemies, now? Way to go!

"A moment," was a good picture. You set the mood with Masser, Wereavi and Serana, both creatures of the night, just looking at the horizon!

Anyways, Aravi must of hated that back since she would be a lab rat dog for those fiends. The action was superb! Her sneaky skills and slicing vampire thrall necks is never too boring to see. She always has something new up her sleeve.

SERANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Damn the cliffhanger! MUAAAAA .

[Acadian]

That sword in Aravi’s left hand sure is a bright glowy thing! Youch! We see what is responsible for all those spider webs. That was a neat purple puzzle on the floor that Aravi used to raise the monolith. And she gets the girl in the end! What an entrance!

Spectacular screenshots and I like Aravi’s armor!

[Grits]

Oh no, spiders! Oh crap that’s a big one! I have no memory of that part. Serana’s wakeup flop gave a great view of her excellent hairstyle. That whole scene has a nice feeling of another time, just the way the Vigilant scholar describes it.

Lovely screens! A Moment is so peaceful. Serana looks less than pleased, even though they’re under the moon. How fun to see Aravi with her dragon helper! The last one is my favorite with the fire light on Aravi and that beautiful bow, and the explosion in the background. That armor will work great for snow camo!

[mALX]

Can't watch the vids till I get home, but I'm getting too far behind waiting to comment - going to cover the screenshots in comments and come back for the vids when I return.


Loved all these first set, can't pick a fave (but the "Frozen waterfall" was very cool!

I gotta say, KC - LOVING these new textures!

GAAAAAH! What the hell is that thing? What is in its mouth? URK !!!

Oooh, purple Aravi with an enemy sneaking up behind her? URK !!!

I loved all this next set - was that dragon really helping Aravi? Is it a mod? Then Loved Aravi's new armor in that last screen! Some really cool shots here!

I'll be back for the vids !!! So sorry I can't watch them here!!!

[SubRosa]

I have gone past the Vigilant hall being destroyed with Revansch, and she is still meeting Vigilants on the road. Looks like one more bug.

I liked Aravi's headshake at seeing the webs. Ugh, spiders. I have modded them out of my game.

I have to say that the random vampire talk you hear when you sneak up on them is improved over the vanilla game.

Vampires, death hounds, familiars, Kharjo, what an insane melee! I was afraid Aravi might hack up someone on the wrong side.

Ewww, that guy summoned a spider!

So much for muttonchops. He should have waited for you to show up. Then he'd still be alive.

Scratch one vampire thrall. She walked right into that. Aravi did not have any trouble with those vamps. I see Lokil tried turning invisible and running on you too.

That spike from the pedestal was a surprise! Ouch! This puzzle took me a while.

[King Coin]

@DE: The contents of that book are both interesting and disgusting. The experiments described were horrible. Aravi would kill anyone that tortured like that.

I really liked Moment, so I am glad you did as well. And yes, Aravi has dragons to help her out! Thanks DE!

@Acadian: That glowy sword is Dawn Breaker! It causes undead to explode sometimes. Seemed appropriate for fighting vampires. Thanks Acadian!

@Grits: Can’t it be anything but spiders? Ugh. That whole scene with Serana waking up was awesome. Very well done.

Serana does look impatient, doesn’t she? It was so much fun taking on the fort with the dragon helping. I got lucky with that last screen shot, very dynamic pose. Thanks Grits!

@mALX: Glad you approve of the new textures, I really like them too. Makes her look very distinct from the other Khajiit.

I think I know what screen you are talking about, the enemy isn’t an enemy but Serana.

The dragon was helping Aravi and no it is not a mod. Thank you very much for popping in mALX!

@SubRosa: I assumed those Vigilants on the road were based somewhere else.

I hate the spiders, but not enough that I feel like I need to mod them out. I think I am getting worse with spiders though…

Melees like that one are very difficult. Kharjo’s familiar often gets hit by Aravi when things are like that.

I’ve noticed that vampires are cowards. When they lose enough health, they very often try to disappear and run for it. I’m surprised you are the only one to mention the pedestal. That was a neat (if painful) addition, having your hand speared like that. It’s a little creepy knowing Aravi’s blood was used to wake Serana. Thanks SubRosa!

###############################

Aravi finds a woman locked in a tomb. A vampire. After an uneasy start, they leave the crypt together. Aravi is glad Kharjo is watching her back.

10:06

###############################

Large bow

Another dead thief

Rain!

I started a new game to see if it would fix a problem I have been having, then started playing it because it is so much fun to be low level.
So here’s a level 4, slightly different looking Aravi

[Lycanthropic-Legend]

From dragon battling in the mountains, to fighting the Forsworn in the reach and escaping the mines to joining up with the Dawnguard to restart her vampire slaying career.

It’s a little creepy knowing Aravi’s blood was used to wake Serana.

We had a theory back in the Bethesda forums that when vampires forgo drinking blood for a large period of time, they're body goes into a coma. Such as the case of Rona Hassildor. According to lore, sometimes they go into hibernarion. The ones in Vvardenfell went into a deep slumber after they were all being hunted down by the Buyont Armigers and the Ordinators. Serana probably gave up drinking just so that she could sleep for all those years. Hell, she must be over four thousand years old!! And that's probably why she's so close to the player, because that's the first drop of blood that's she had for all those years, and that's what woke her up.

I’ve noticed that vampires are cowards. When they lose enough health, they very often try to disappear and run for it.

Yep. But then again, most of the vampire NPC's in the game are female . . .*puts on flame vest*

The contents of that book are both interesting and disgusting. The experiments described were horrible. Aravi would kill anyone that tortured like that.

See, Lycanthropy can be confusing for the ignorant, and it is understandable that they would go to such lengths to explore and probe around the body of a werewolf for their heinous experiments. Understandable, but not noble or tolerable. Any werewolf would surely go in and rampage the hell out of them and disect them with teeth and claw for their nightly(or in some cases) daily nutrition. No wonder Aela and Skjor wanted to rush in and destroy the Silver Hand.

A vampire. After an uneasy start, they leave the crypt together. Aravi is glad Kharjo is watching her back.

Definetly uneasy. Vampires, by nature, are deceptive and manipulative and backstabbing. It's rooted in their blood. I was surprised and dissapointed that Serana didn't betray the player at the end of the quest if he was a vampire hunter.




Oh, and Serana us uncovered at last and it's off to Castle Volkihar to deliver the scroll and the beautiful vampire princess. Harkon will be pleased, but not when Aravi rejects his offer

Aravi's praising of the rainfall is such a wonderful picture, and funny, too! Though it would be better if it was raining sugar.

[Acadian]

Vid. As powerful as Serana’s entrance was, I was delighted that you treated us to it again! With Aravi, Kharjo and his wolf and Serana and her undead summons, the battlefield is getting pretty busy! Serana seems like a pretty effective mage. You could really sense Aravi’s trepidation about taking on a vampire. I loved when she looked to Kharjo and he gave her a ‘I dunno, boss’ kind of look. Seems like Serana’s been on ice for a very, very long time and what on Nirn is she doing with an Elder Scroll? I know. . . it’s complicated. . . .

Screens. Another little girl with a big bow! Is that a bandit wearing glass armor? I thought they would have fixed that for Skyrim. Lol. The rain shot is just beautiful. I’m so glad you’re enjoying a restart on Aravi! I see she kept her distinctive little scar.

[SubRosa]

I wish I had mysterious women falling into my arms...

Then again, mysterious vampire women I could do without.

Did you mod something with Serana's eyes? In my game they look like solid red brake lights. Same with all other vampires.

I liked Aravi looking from Serana to Kharjo. I am sure she is glad to have someone she can trust with Serana around. The way the game forces you to take Serana back to her dad's castle is not the best example of good writing. A hard-core vampire hunter (is there any other kind of vampire hunter?) would kill her on the spot. But that would invalidate all the work Bethesda put into the character, so I am sure that is why you do not have the option.

Oh look, not one, but two gargoyles! And how nice of Serana to start things off by shooting Kharjo in the back. Ahh, that glowy thing is something Serana animated. I noticed she has a habit of animating everything that does not move. I suppose we all need hobbies...

I see that Draugr Scourge got a delayed Dawnbreaker explosion. I have not seen that happen myself because my characters so rarely use followers. But I have read that if you hit an undead with Dawnbreaker and it dies within a certain amount of time, they can still explode. Even if Dawnbreaker is not the weapon that deals the final hit. Neat to see!

That Death Overlord actually lasted about 7 or 8 seconds against Aravi. I think that might be a record!

That is a large bow! What kind is it? I do not recognize it.

I see Aravi has some of that Snow Elf armor now. I think I like it. It is similar to Elven. I will have to see more of it. I noticed that the Thief was wearing glass armor. That takes me back to Oblivion, with its bandits wearing glass and ebony armor!

I really like rain, with her arms outstretched. I can just imagine Aravi catching raindrops on her tongue.

But your level 4 Aravi is my favorite. She has such a wonderful smile. Are you going to stop playing her at high level, and stick with the Aravi 2.0?

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Dec 3 2012, 02:42 AM

[mALX]

Nice outfit Aravi has on in "Large Bow!"

Great facial on Aravi in "Dead Thief!"

ROFL !!! The new Aravi looks wild, like a younger (and less disciplined) version of Aravi! Love it!

Can't watch vids yet, but great update so far and will catch up when I get home. <3

[Grits]

When Serana says, “What Empire?” Really neat. I love how Aravi took a moment to think things over. Taking a vampire to her home is not something I would have guessed Aravi would do back in her Cyrodiil days, but Serana is different and so is the whole situation. Isran would want to know more. (So he can burn out their nest. )

I know from your writing before that Kharjo is probably somewhat perturbed, but he is not showing it and definitely backing Aravi’s play. I love how you are able to show what’s going on without them speaking!

That was an awesome WTF moment with the gargoyle and Kharjo charging in! Then Aravi was keeping her distance from Serana. What an unsettling situation.

Oh wow, fights with Serana, Aravi, and Kharjo will never be boring! Raised undead and summonings everywhere, and a Shouting contest! Woo hoo! Plus the sight of Serana rushing up in battle mode is not very calming. That was great to get a word from Kharjo in at the end there. This was great fun to watch, KC!

Screens: Gosh, I do love that big bow. The Ancient Falmer armor looks great on Aravi. I like the way she wears it without the gauntlets and boots. Argh, those thieves! I’ve never managed to intimidate one. I like the way there are a few NPCs in the same type of armor that is available to the player (thieves, some mercenaries), since they are out there alone expecting to prevail while the fur-clad bandits have to fight in groups. Rain is absolutely lovely, I adore her pose. And the new Aravi looks just as kind as we know she is! What a beautiful smile! The last two are my favorites.